


By the Light of the Moon

by NuclearNik



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Unexplained Magic, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 17:58:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21019901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NuclearNik/pseuds/NuclearNik
Summary: Harry takes a turn saving Hermione, for once.Written for Hermione's Haven Crack!fic round of Roll-A-Drabble Roll-A-Thon 2019. Assigned tropes: supernatural and life debt





	By the Light of the Moon

There were very few things Hermione Granger was frightened of.

Craving raw meat and feeling especially rabid once a month was not one she'd thought she'd have included in her _ Top Five Fears List_, but it was there now.

It had been three months since _T__he Incident._ One-hundred and six days, if one were keeping track.

Which, of course, Hermione was.

She thought back to that ill-fated night that had left her forever changed and how it had felt like an entirely ordinary Thursday. The story wasn't particularly titillating. She'd been walking in the forest near her house—she'd moved to a cottage in a little town with few people and lots of trees. 

There were warnings, of course. Stories told by the townspeople of vicious beasts stalking the wilderness, ready to prey on an unsuspecting hiker.

Hermione had been up for two straight days trying to perfect a cure for dragon pox. She was close—so close—when she realized a crucial ingredient for the potion was missing from her stores. She cursed herself for not checking ahead of time, because that particular ingredient needed to be added at a specific time during the brewing process, otherwise it would stuff up the whole thing.

She'd stared down at the bubbling cauldron, contemplating whether going out to forage for the missing ingredient was a poor idea.

It probably was, but there was no way Hermione could let all this work be for nothing.

So, she'd put on her cloak, tugging the hood low over her face, and laced up her boots, heading out into the night that was lit from the sky by the moon.

Having secured the plant she needed, she tucked it into her satchel and headed back to her cottage, wand drawn and at the ready.

She'd nearly made it to the edge of the forest when the sound of a twig breaking beneath heavy feet brought her to a halt.

Looking in every direction, she kept her wand in front of her, defence against whatever it was that was here with her in the trees.

Casting a shield around her, Hermione stared into the inky darkness, eyes straining to see.

After that first snap of a twig, there had been no more sounds, and Hermione started to back up out of the copse of trees she was standing in, still wary but feeling safe enough to walk home.

Too late, she saw the hint of a shadow just behind her, soft in the weak light of the moon.

Large hands with spindly fingers grabbed her arms, nails digging into her biceps. She screamed, thrashing her body and trying to get a firm grip on her wand. 

The figure behind her wrapped its arms around her middle and yanked her off her feet, shaking her with a force that made her head thrust forward only to be snapped backwards. The wand slipped out of her fingers in the melee, and a sound of anguish left her when she saw it hit the ground. Her skills with wandless magic were still being built, and everything she tried against her attacker was weak, barely a puff of magic.

All at once, she'd been released. Her attacker threw her to the ground, and as she made impact, she saw the glint of light against glass out of the corner of her eye.

Her head was spinning, and everything sounded as if she were underwater as she lay on the ground, trying to get her bearings.

A face entered her line of vision.

"'Mione. Hey, Hermione, can you look at me, love?"

_ Harry. _

"Mmm," she groaned when his hand cupped her chin and gently tilted it so he could see her eyes. She couldn't seem to catch her breath, and her vision started going dark at the edges.

Harry pushed the hair out of her eyes and stroked it back. "Hermione, love, it's okay. He's gone. It's okay."

"Harry… What—What happened?"

He helped her to sit up, and when she was steady, he pointed in the direction of where the body of her attacker lay.

"Oh my…"

The figure in a heap on the ground was grotesque, a strange combination of wolf and human.

"What is…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"I've never seen anything like this before. It's as if he was half-transformed, stuck in limbo between man and wolf. I've alerted a friend in the Beast Division at the Ministry. They should be here soon to investigate."

Once she was strong enough to move without feeling like she might throw up, she lunged forward, throwing her arms around Harry.

"Thank you," she said, overwhelmed. "I owe you big time, Harry."

"Now, now, love. It was nothing at all. I'm just glad you're safe. You scared the hell out of me."

She smirked up at him, chuckling. "Please accept my sincere apologies for frightening you with my attack."

"Oh, ‘Mione. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"It's a joke, you goober."

There was relief on Harry's face, and he grinned sardonically. "Ha ha." His face darkened as he said, "'I came to see you at your cottage since it's been radio silence for the last few days. I was worried. I heard you screaming and I—I ran to you, terrified of what I'd find."

"It's okay, alright? I'm okay. I'm safe. Help me up, would you?"

He took her hands and gently pulled her to stand on her feet. When he wrapped his arms around her, and she pressed her face to his chest, Hermione felt a humming in her bones, reverberating out from their point of contact.

She pulled back to look at Harry, eyebrows pinched together. 

"What?" they said together, confused.

Just then, the team from the DRCMC arrived on the scene, roping off the area and asking Harry and Hermione a million questions.

As they explained the events of the night, a member of the team asked them when, precisely, Harry had stepped in. Hermione estimated that it was right as the creature was about to take a bite out of her neck because she'd felt his stagnant breath against her ear.

"Well," the DRCMC employee explained, "There's a high possibility that Ms. Granger now owes you a debt."

"What?" Harry asked in shock.

"A life debt. It's an uncontrollable piece of magic that is triggered when a witch or wizard saves someone from immediate danger, at the right time of the night. It's all very particular, has to do with the stars. I'm just a low-level employee. I don't know much about it. You'll have to seek that information elsewhere."

Hermione nodded, already planning to head straight for the library to research.

"And soon, too," the man added. "There can be consequences tied to life debts if they are left unfulfilled."

Harry took his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose, saying, "Okay. Okay, thank you, sir."

The man nodded and headed off to consult with the rest of his team.

"A life debt, huh?"

Harry was in front of her so quickly she didn't even see him move. "We'll figure this out, 'Mione. You don't owe me a damn thing."

Raising a hand to cup his cheek, she said, "Harry. Stop freaking out. It's alright. Of all the people in the world to owe my life to, you'd be one of my first picks."

"One of?" he said, one corner of his mouth quirked up.

"In the top five, at the very least."

His laugh echoed through the forest, and Hermione found she'd like to hear that sound forever.

"Come on. Take me to the library, Mr. Potter. I have reading to do."

He offered her his arms. "My pleasure, dear lady."

They headed out to the library, hanging in the unknown and hoping they'd find the answers they were seeking.

Hermione was pulled back to the present by a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Ready to go, love?" Harry asked her.

They were going out to dinner, a restaurant they'd been to before that turned a blind eye to Hermione's odd meat consumption habits.

They'd still not figured out exactly what it was that Hermione owed Harry, but they found that they didn't mind. Thanks to the half-transformed form of the wolf that scratched her, she'd not fully turned. She just had a few more... animalistic qualities now.

All the time spent trying to figure things out together had brought Harry and Hermione closer, and she was happier than she'd ever been.

Now Hermione's list of fears was shorter because she had someone who cared about her, someone who protected her.

Her Harry.  
  
  



End file.
